8 Advanced Paintball Tips for The Experienced or First Time Player

1. Have your Own Thermal Goggle System

Having your own mask makes paintball 10 times more enjoyable. It must have a thermal lens (a dual layer lens). This cuts down fog immensely. If you cannot see you opponents you will get shot more, and you will shoot less people, the entire point of playing this awesome game! If you are on a budget you can still get a good mask, as they start from about $80.00 for the Base – GS O Operator mask and go to $379 for a Push Unite mask. I would recommend the latter. The Push masks are super comfortable, fog destroying, and look aggressive and mean as! Your vision is the most important thing in paintball.

2. Work out a “Kill Count” call with your team.

Before the games starts, count the opposing teams’ players, and make sure you tell your squad that number. “There are 15 over there, and when we shoot one, we call G1(1 kill), or G2(2 kills).” If you do not trust your team in calling the kills, it is YOUR responsibility to keep track of the kills and tell your team at least once every 30 seconds. Every team has that one player that is a total killer and doesn’t repeat kill calls or call the kills when he/she shoots players. Calling the kills motivates your team and gives them confidence too move, knowing that they may get to make a close quarters shot on the last few players!!!!

3. Gunfighting Trickery

When you are in an intense battle with 1 other player, you have to gain dominance in the fight. That means that you have your gun out and are waiting for the other player to try and pop out and make the shot on you. If you establish the dominance and have the other player tucked in, you are now ready to engage the trickery. Step 1 in the trickery is to shoot 1 paintball at a time very slowly, 1 per second, right by their bunker. This not only annoys them because you can do this all day, and it also makes them think they have the time to come out for a quick shot. Chances are that they get impatient and come out for one. Odds are in your favor to head shot them! If you want to go to level 2 trickery, keep shooting the slow 1 per second, followed by a random 3 shot burst. This increases odd even more for a kill. If you know the person wants to move and will do anything to put you in and gain dominance, it becomes easier. Slow shoot and randomly shoot other potential spots they may try to come out. If they are being held back they WILL do something stupid.

4. NEVER shoot your last ball.

No matter what happens you never shoot you last paintball. If you run out of paintballs you have failed and are useless, you may as well give up. The game may go longer than expected and you can always move and help your team by being a distraction. If you save the last few shots, you have the option of moving closer and run them down and give them 1 shot to the goggle (hard part). You can win the game if you have 1 paintball left. Too many times I have seen tournament players just give up because they shoot their packs dry and their last paintball. Do not do it unless you are shooting the last player and winning the game.

5. Shoot 300 feet per second.

If its your first time or your 10th time playing paintball, check the field velocity limit and make sure you are shooting that velocity. Its as easy as asking your ref or having the correct allen key for your gun. Shooting 300, not 285, not 270, and not 290 is a massive difference in gun performance and a massive booster to your kill ratio. You can shoot people further and farther than everyone else. Your paintballs get to the target flatter and sooner. Your paintballs hit harder and discourage cheating the closer you get to 300fps. The only acceptable reason to shoot lower than 300fps is that the paintballs are too brittle, and your gun is breaking them in the barrel. All good paintball fields have a chronograph.

6. Paintball Conditioning

Keep your paintballs dry. Do not tip them into an open tub, do not tip them into their carboard box. Unless that is if you would prefer to bounce players and degrade accuracy! Paint shoots the best dry and fresh out of the bag. Consider using a lid on your hopper if you have a speedfeed and you are about to go on a long bush game. If you are only going out for 30 minutes or less speed feeds are fine. You can also improve the paintballs brittleness or hardness by changing the temperature of the paintballs. In Canada we had a propane outdoor heater for our paintballs in winter as they were just too cold and extremely brittle. In Australia, keeping your paintballs cold, in the shade, and up opened can also help a lot. Humidity and heat kills paintball performance. Do not load 20 pods and leave them in a cart or on your table thinking you are saving time for later, you are actually helping the enemy.

7. Essential items for Your Equipment and Game Day

These items are not an option. Have them handy in case you need them. Excellent, expensive batteries for your gun and hopper. Duracell or Energizer only. Check voltage with a multimeter and discard any questionable batteries. Modern guns have a battery level meter on them, so when they read ¾, just change the 9V!

Microfibre Towel(s)

Have 3 + They allow you to keep vision even in rain. Keep them in your pocket, keep them in your gear bag, keep them in your car. Everywhere…

Squeegee / Swab

Have 2, a dirty barrel makes you an easy kill, and stupid for having a dirty barrel!

Elbow Pads

Yes, they are more important than all other soft playing gear. You can play in a t-shirt, but without elbow pads you are not crawling, playing on the ground, or getting bounces on one of the most common places to get shot. These are essential, the bigger, more padding the better….

Camo Headwrap

Keep the sweat out of your goggles. Look bad ass. Get bounces off your head and keep playing. No sunburn. Comfort and a better goggle fit. Camouflage. Less pain when you get blasted in the forehead. The list goes on and on… Get a Headwrap!!!!! Click here to see my favorites

Footwear

No, your Adidas running shoes are not good enough for paintball. You need a 0 slip, ankle supported ground destroying shoe to do well in paintball. You need multiple types of shoe for the playing surface you are on. For example, tournament is 90% grass. In this case football(soccer) cleats are imperative. Traction = speed = less chances of getting shot. If you are playing in the bush, I highly recommend an aggressive trail running shoe such as the Salomon range of off road footwear. Ankle support is highly recommended for playing in the bush or scrub and the ground is always un-even and prone to tripping. If you are playing on artificial turf, sports cleats are horrible, and so are outdoor trail running shoes/boots. You will need a flat bottom indoor football shoes with tons of small spikes to get the most traction on the slippery surface. These can be hard to find.

8. Hydrate or Die

You must keep your fluids up. If you just goto paintball and drink 1 or 2 sports drinks, you will be dehydrated and not thinking clearly by the end of the day. You should be drinking 3+ litres of fluid in a day of paintball. Light snacks and lunch are also a must. If you skip either your mental game and performance will be sub-par. Just by being prepared with food and drinks, you will play better than 70% of people that just “wing” it on the day. I have over 20 years or playing tournament, social, and scenario paintball, the above tips will make you a better player just by being prepared. – Adam Connolly